The attendance was especially high on Sunday, May 17, when the International Museum Day was celebrated. On that day, citizens of Uzhhorod came to the exhibition with their entire families, and shared their impressions in the guestbook after having reviewed the photos.
At a stand, I met employee of the Transcarpathian Regional Job Center Fedir Romochutsky, his wife Tetiana and their three school-aged sons: Denys, Maksym, and Artem. “We regularly discuss difficult issues of the nation’s public life with the boys, and often find it hard to offer a candid answer to the question why exactly the situation in our country is such as it is. This exhibition provides a visual confirmation, a perfect illustration of the realities of our lives, which are often caused, among other things, by unpatriotic, irresponsible behavior of our fellow citizens. For the younger generation, this exhibition serves also as a kind of social ‘vaccination’ against the civic indifference bacillus, so our family is here at the moment,” Romochutsky told us.
While I was talking to the Romochutskys, head of the Transcarpathian Authors’ Organization poet Vasyl Husti entered the hall; he had seen his 41-year-old son off to the army just a few hours before the exhibition’s opening. “What I saw in the photos was in full alignment with my mood, and probably that of all these parents, my fellow citizens whose children defend Ukraine now,” Husti said. “Peering into their faces, I feel affinity with daredevils of the Euromaidan as well as brave defenders of the Fatherland and their relatives who bless them as they depart to serve the sacred cause, and then wait for them to come back alive and healthy. Moving from one picture to another, I was feeling deeper and deeper still about what I was seeing. The time will come when poets and prose writers, artists and composers will depict this era in their individual manners. However, there will be certain subjectivity, authorial fiat to their works, there will be artistic truth in them, while here, we get to see factual truth, life truth which must be preserved for many centuries so that our posterity knows how high was the price that our generation paid as it defended Ukraine. Such exhibitions are very necessary, because they enter into the history the characters of this era, some as defenders of the Fatherland, others as its traitors, so it is important that more people saw it, because it gives us fortitude, optimism, and faith in the future.”
The exhibition’s guestbook is filling with messages as well. The opening one was left by freshmen of journalism department of Uzhhorod National University who visited the photo exhibition’s solemn opening. “Each of the works on display here is impressive, because it relates the feelings that fill today’s Ukraine. Each photo shows Ukrainians just like they really are. The pain and pride for our people are the day’s agenda. Thank you for your gift of impressions!”
“Having seen what I saw here, I want to thank you! The photos are impressive to the point of inducing tears, they are alive, sincere and emotional. Each of them shows incredible human experiences and genuine impressions. Many thanks for your gift of sincere emotions. I earnestly request you to continue your activities, and look forward to the next exhibition!” Petro Mykhailovych wrote.
